71% of online consumers expect to be able to access help within five minutes, and 48% will take their business elsewhere unless this help is forthcoming within the expected timeframe, state the findings of the Connecting with Customers Report, commissioned by LivePerson.

The Connecting with Customers Report surveyed over 5,700 online consumers from the UK, USA, Australia, France, Germany and Italy to identify how a change in consumer behaviour is leading to a gap between the expectation of online service levels and the reality of what organisations are able to deliver.

Key findings from the Connecting with Customers Report include:

Speed of abandonment: 71% expect to be able to access help when purchasing online within five minutes, whilst 31% expect this help to be immediate.

Customer service expectations: When asked what makes a great customer service experience 82% believe that getting their issue resolved quickly is most important, with German users (90%) placing the most emphasis on this. 56% believe that resolving the issue in a single interaction makes for great service, with the highest percentage in the USA (66%).

Help seeking behaviours: Globally 83% of online users admit that they need some form of support during their online journey. The UK was the least likely to seek out help (13%), whilst Italy was the most likely (43%).

Chat on demand: 59% of global users would like to have more choice in how they contact online brands with 93% seeing real time help being of use in at least one online shopping scenario. 51% stated that they were more likely to purchase from a website if they could get answers via Live Chat, with particular demand in Italy (60%), the USA (56%) and Australia (52%).

Download the Connecting with Customers Report to really understand what consumers want from online retailers.